Opinion
No. 13-6965
10-25-2013
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JERMAINE BROWN, a/k/a Jeezy, Defendant - Appellant.
Jermaine Brown, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Edward Bradenham, II, Assistant United States Attorney, Timothy Richard Murphy, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Newport News, Virginia; Gurney Wingate Grant, II, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
UNPUBLISHED
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Newport News. Rebecca Beach Smith, Chief District Judge. (4:09-cr-00063-RBS-TEM-10; 4:13-cv-00041-RBS) Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Jermaine Brown, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Edward Bradenham, II, Assistant United States Attorney, Timothy Richard Murphy, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Newport News, Virginia; Gurney Wingate Grant, II, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Jermaine Brown seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2013) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2006). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent "a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2006). When the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims is debatable or wrong. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 (2003). When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable, and that the motion states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85.
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Brown has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Brown's motions for a certificate of appealability and for appointment of counsel and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED